10 Ways to Make Money Online

By Lewis Howes | Yahoo Small Business

When I read about making money on most sites, it always seems to be a little cheesy or some type of link-hacking system that is too good to be true.

There are, however, some great individuals who do it right. In the video above, I’ll mention who some of them are and give you my top 10 ways to make money online in an authentic, inspiring, educating and entertaining way.

A way that leaves you full not by the amount of money in your bank account (because it can be A LOT if you do it right) but by the emails you receive by customers on how you changed their life, or when you meet an online client in person with tears rolling down their face expressing how their dreams have been achieved because of YOU!

It’s a powerful feeling, and I want you to experience that.

But it takes knowing how to do it the right way that both serves your vision and supports others. Here are my top 10 ways to make money online with integrity:

1. Teaching and Training

This is my number one way, and I been doing this for the last five years. This is something that almost every major university has been doing (taking their classes online) due to the huge success they saw from University of Phoenix, which set the tone for online education. It’s easier now more than ever for companies and entrepreneurs to launch online schools, and my good friend Marie Forleo is a prime example with her mega success, B-School.

2. Offering a Service

Providing a service may be the easiest way to start because you don’t need any investment to get this going. My podcast editor Ian Robinson is helping podcast creators edit their shows to increase production value. There are many different ways to provide a service and it’s just about realizing where your talent lies and what solution you can provide for others.

3. Creating and Selling Products

If you have an expertise in ANYTHING then you can package it into a book, course, software, audio program, DVD, and so on. The best way to get the word out and sell these products is with webinars.

4. Membership Sites and Continuity Programs

Another champion that I have a lot of respect for in this arena is Ramit Sethi. He has an amazing continuity program (Ramit’s Brain Trust) and each month provides useful and specific information for his passionate community. The community thrives off of his wise direction and its members pay him monthly to continue getting access to the community and resources. The beauty of this model is you sell something once and get paid each month for it.

5. Affiliate Marketing

Nick Reese has done an incredible job of building websites, developing outstanding searchable content and selling other people’s products on his sites. He gets a commission on every sale or lead he sends to the company. So he never had to create his own product in order to build his business (he has since branched out into other areas that you can check out on his new site). Pat Flynn also does an amazing job at this, and he actually shows how much he generates on a monthly basis from his affiliates here.

6. Building a Site and Selling Ads

Derek Halpern is a BEAST at this. The legend behind SocialTriggers started a celebrity gossip site years ago and had millions of visitors every month that he leveraged to sell advertising on the site. Another example is Tina Su of ThinkSimpleNow.com who does an amazing job with this while sharing inspiring personal development content.

7. Selling Sponsorships for Branded Content

John Lee Dumas generates over $50K monthly selling sponsorships on his podcast and writes about how he does this here. This can be done via podcast, developing a niched website or even a video show. Create branded content around your passion and find sponsors that will be attracted to your audience.

8. Events

Creating and promoting events, either online or offline, can be very profitable as well. Michael Stelzner does both online summits and in-person events with thousands of attendees, all while starting out from a simple blog a few years ago.

9. Masterminds and Coaching

An inspiring changemaker member of the Integrity Podcast Network is Jonathan Fields. He runs the Good Life Project and has ongoing coaching and retreats in exotic locations all year long that sell for a high ticket price. This can be done either online or offline, as Jonathan has mastered the art of doing both.

10. Getting Creative

Jason Sadler (now known as Jason SurfrApp) is one creative entrepreneur. He used his online platform to make money wearing different company’s shirts with Iwearyourshirt.com. Now he sells his last name for nearly $50,000 a year, sells sponsored pages in his new book, and continues to push the envelope with what you can earn by being creative.

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These are just my top 10 ways of making money online. I’d love to hear what steps listed above you’ve done that work for you in making money online. Please share (and be specific) in the comments section below, and feel free to add another point that works well for you if you if I missed one.

Author photo by Nick Onken. A version of this post originally appeared on the author’s blog.

Lewis Howes is a lifestyle entrepreneur and former pro athlete. He builds million dollar businesses, is an author and teaches people how to grow their online business from anywhere in the world at http://lewishowes.com. Lewis also plays on the USA National team for Team Handball.

The Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) is an invite-only organization comprised of the world's most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, YEC recently launched StartupCollective, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses.